French pill fills air with muguet scent

A French inventor has developed a pill that means people can fill the air with the aroma of lily of the valley when they break wind.

Christian Poincheval, from Mayenne, took four years to develop the scented wind-breaking pill - the fifth after ones that produce aromas of rose, violet, chocolate and ginger.

He said he came up with the idea for the aroma tablets after he suffered unpleasant flatulence following an otherwise enjoyable meal in Switzerland a decade ago.

Shortly after his malodorous Swiss experience, Mr Poincheval contacted a laboratory in La Flèche, Sarthe, and work on the pills began - though the chocolate ones are the most popular, he said. They are now sold all over the world, at a cost of about €20 for a 10-day supply.